A post by The Nairobi Hospital has ignited debate on X (formerly Twitter) after many Kenyans described its circumcision charges as “exorbitant”.
The hospital published a price list targeting parents and guardians of boys under 14 years – essentially those in the “circumcision age bracket”.
According to the shared package, the fee includes the surgeon’s costs and theatre charges. Circumcision under local anaesthesia was listed at KSh 70,000, while general anaesthesia would cost KSh 90,000.
The figures immediately drew sharp reactions online, with many parents comparing the rates to what they pay in rural areas or at smaller facilities.
“90,000 Kenyatta dollars for circumcision? My boys travelled to the village with their father, and I think it was like 300 bob. Their grandmother nursed them,” Cathy Mutuku noted
Others echoed similar sentiments, saying they prefer to send their sons upcountry when they reach initiation age, where costs are far lower.
Several x users argued that circumcision is the same procedure everywhere and does not justify such a steep price difference.
“We from the Savannah pay 1k max, no anaesthesia (local or general), two weeks maximum to healing, no complications,” a user wrote
Another user recalled undergoing the procedure at home as a child, contrasting it with the hospital rates:
“Inflation is killing this nation for real. Removing a foreskin is now that expensive! Back when I was barely 10, my father called the guy who cut us from home… We were laid on our kitchen table as they cleaned…”
–Anonymous X user (as quoted in the original post)
While many felt the prices were unreasonably high for what they see as a simple procedure, a minority defended the hospital.
Those supporting the package argued that The Nairobi Hospital is a premier private facility in an urban setting, with higher operating costs, specialist surgeons and modern theatre standards ; factors they say naturally push up prices compared to regular clinics or mission hospitals.